Just wanted to share this with the WakeWorld brethren...I reached my goal of becoming a Network Engineer (specializing in Cisco and VMware) before turning 28. I was offered a security position at a classified data center facility working for a large government contractor. My current employer didn't want to lose me and offered the title/pay that the large gov contractor was offering me. I have tons of flexibility with my schedule and work from home a lot so I made the decision to stay where I am.

Just stoked that I can afford more gas for the 210 so the wife, crew, and I can keep riding. Also, maybe a piece of land on my fav home lake in my near future.

Oh yeah, a nice time piece as well as a symbol of my hard work. Watch guys will know what this is.

Nice reward and congrats. I too am not a big fan of the counter offer, but sometimes you just have to look at both offers and take the best for the time. 'Sall good - Hopefully gets you more time on the water. Good job.

I never really intending leaving my current employer as the flexibility with my schedule is just too good. Also, many perks like mobile phone and home internet bills paid for. I just wanted the title I deserved and the $ that comes with it.

Speaking from experience, working for a governemnt contractor can suck at times since the contracts are typically 1-3 years so you always have to worry about the contract being renewed, new company winning the next contract, not having a job, etc.

Congrats on accomplishing your goal! So do you have your CCIE? Virtualization is the new cool thing...CLOUD! lol...good choice on the VMWARE specialty...I don't see that going away anytime soon.

A friend of mine is a CCIE-Voice. He said the written part was hell, lab was easy if you knew your stuff.

IronPort is Cisco's SMTP and Web application firewalls. They purchased the company a few years back. Uses multiple engine/db's but the main one is Websense. It is unmatched product IMO. I have deployed Watchguard, Barracuda, and Sonicwall in the past and IronPort makes all look silly.

do a quick search on counter offers....you'll get a feel for why they are not a good idea. you were obviously dissastified, to an extent at your current job. I know from experience...just know the potential consequnces and what to look for to prevent the negatives.

Adam, I understand counter offers but I am not leaving a 40 hour a week, work from home job with almost limitless flexibility to go work for a Gov contractor doing 12 hour security detail shifts in a facility so classified I can't take my iPhone in or surf WakeWorld.

$ isn't my number 1 goal. If it was I'd be working for a large bank in NYC. I left a little money on the table by staying put but I am happy with role and what I do. I just wanted the job title and 25% increase, which I got.

Aaron congrats on the new promotion. I agree with some of the people on here that counter offers are not the best way to go and they are something I deal with on a daily basis. But you'll just have to do a little research to CYA at your current employer, I wouldn't say it's a career ending decision you'll just have to be careful for long while. You don't have to take my word for any of this just google "counter offer".

The main thing to keep in mind is that the counter offer was in your employers best interest not yours. Why weren't you worth the promotion or $ before you where leaving? More often then not they can throw more money at you because they need to buy time to find a suitable replacement but can't afford to have an open position. The thing you have to keep in mind now is that your loyalty is question because you had a foot out the door, make sure you prove your worth to them. If they can bring someone new in cheaper and who can show more loyalty to the company why wouldn't they?

You might think that being eliminated would be the worst thing that can happen if you take a counter, which it's not. The worst thing is that you stay, and are - from now on - untrustworthy. Or disloyal. Or an extortionist. It depends on the way your boss shades your actions.

The end result is, no matter how you behave in the future, you'll always be regarded with suspicion. You've already shown that you're ready to leave, so management will be waiting for you to do it again. You'll be at the bottom of the list for promotions and good assignments.

If your thinking of getting future certifications you'd like the company to pay for think of this. Why would a company invest in someone whose longevity is questionable?

Not meaning to freak you out, just do as much CYA as you can it's a bigger deal then you might think. Like I said you don't have to take my word for it just do some research but I do these kind of negotiations on a daily basis.

1. Congrats
2. Bet this isn't exactly how you thought this thread would turn out?
3. LOL @ "life long dream" being network admin.. you mean when you were 12 you were dreaming about cisqo servers?
4. lol @ right hand watch..
5. please see point #1

I've worked side-by-side with people that had offers and took the counter to stay put - the boss never trusted them after that - always looking for a reason to doubt them - like a woman who got cheated on.

I've accepted an offer and been begged to stay - and did. Worst mistake of my life.

Aaron's situation sounds different from mine in the past.

My favorite situation was when I quit to start my own company and they said "we'll convince you to stay". Not!

3. Lifelong dream of having the word Engineer attached to my job. I always said in school I'd be an engineer of some sort. I am a Network Engineer now, not an admin.
4. Left-handed. Watch always on the right. I also play guitar and wouldn't be able to play while wearing a watch if I wore it left wrist.

Let me also add my manager and upper management want me to be the IT Director in the future. Also, I know the CEO personally so getting screwed by the man via counter offer isn't in play here. I left money on table to keep working in a small, comfortable, and flexible environment. $ isn't everything. My wife and I were doing just fine before my promotion so this is icing on the cake.

Congrats man! Counter-offers can go either way but hopefully this one works out for you, sounds like a good deal with a smaller company.

I'm a Network Admin for a government contractor and things get interesting when government money runs out for the year, but we don't deal strictly with the U.S. government so things have always worked out. Unfortunately I'm in a dead end job. We have a "Sr. Network Engineer" who struggles with basic infrastructure problems, configuring switches, routers, AD, DNS, etc.. A couple other guys who have been there forever and don't really do much except spend money and get others to do things for them. Meanwhile me and one of the other guys who is around the same pay as me (two lowest paid in our IT group) do most of the day to day work, big projects, architecture, infrastructure, etc.. Nothing will change due to politics, and although I love the flexibility, the politics and couple bad coworkers get old. They're all nice guys, but can't do their jobs and manage to hide it well enough that the execs won't let the boss fix the problem. I wish I could get out because nothing will change where I am now.

If you're happy doing what you do, in an environment you like, and getting compensated well, you've got it made. I'm glad to see you succeeding in IT. Enjoy!

I heard Cisco was moving away from VOIP/phone system. Congrats on the job. I never completed getting the CISSP because I took a CTO position for a small healthcare company. I'm on my own now, which has its ups and downs -- enjoy your lax schedule with the normal weekly paycheck - the stress of working for yourself is murder.... And get lots of sets in while your under 30, cause you obviously cant wakeboard when you get old.....

The virtualization certs will definitely be nice in the future as everything is going that way....'

Not sure where you heard this but I can assure you this is not the case. I am beta testing Comm Manager/Unity/Presence in a virtual environment running on UCS platform. No way is this going away. Maybe the physical servers eventually but Cisco VoIP will be in place on the ISRs or Virtual for many many years to come.

Congrats man, and I would sweat the counter offer paranoia being preached here. You made a decision you felt best for you and your family and that's the end of it. I've known plenty of people that accepted counters and have been very successful at the same company. It goes both ways I'm sure.

Anyway, congrats again and glad you were able to meet a goal you set for yourself.